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Thursday, August 23, 2007

Yummy411 Q&A: Help me to define my eyes

A Yummy reader, Nerd Girl sent in a question:"Hey girl - How's everything? Nerd Girl here. Look, the more and more I read your blog and others devoted to all things makeup and beauty, the more I want to try some things out.Problem is, I'm such a nonmakeup wearer. Lipgloss and an occasional swipe of mascara and I'm good. I'd like something natural looking that's not going to cost me a fortune. I'm really interested in defining my eyes, no foundation or anything. Any suggestions? I need quick, easy, non-intimidating, and cheap, so if I don't like it, I won't feel obligated to use it to justify the expense. I appreciate any suggestions you can offer. Thanks much!"

I'm glad you wrote in Nerd Girl. Sounds like you need the natural, but polished look. Quick, easy, and au naturale. After, I'll show you some quick fixes to punch up your look if you are feeling a little gutsy. Here the 'how to', just for you Nerd Girl!

1. a concealer close to your skin tone (I suggest using anything for women of color from the drugstore; Iman, Black Opal, Black Radiance, Loreal HIP. Can't find a concealer? Use some of the liquid foundation), 2. a fluffy blending brush- anyone from the drugstore will do the trick.

3. some powder, pressed, loose, finishing... just make sure it's your skin color, and 4. you can use some foundation or the same concealor

Lastly, 5. mascara, 5. a light eye shadow

Here I am freshly, washed face and moisturized.

I take some of my concealer on my pinky and dot it under my arch.

I take the fluffy blending brush and blend it in.

Here's what it looks like so far... brush your brows into place! To give your eyes a great frame and will help to define them is grooming your brows.. get them threaded, waxed whatever and brush them...

I dot some concealer on my lids.

I take the fluffy brush and blend it in.... the key is to brighten close to the lash line (i dotted near the lashline, but opening and closing my eyes spread the concealer farther up)

After blending on lid....

This is what you need if you have under eye circles like me. If you don't, skip this step. I usually use concealer, but since we are doing low maintenance, I'm using the CoverGirl Queen collection creme foundation because it's closer to my skintone than the concealer.

Whether you use concealer or the foundation, you need a little loose powder (I use my sheer pressed powder) to set the concealer/foundation so that it doesn't crease, etc. I applied using the same fluffy blending brush to apply just a bit of loose powder. We are blending, blending, blending so that it looks as close to our natural skin as possible. (If you used liquid foundation on your lids, instead of concealer you will need to do this step on your lids as well.)

Next I take some of the bright eyeshadow (I'm using MAC's Magic Dust from the Barbie collection. Feel free to use any shadow that says Vanilla, Cream Soda or the like) using the same fluffy blending brush and brush a little in the inner corner of my lower lid. The brush my feel like it's going more places than just the inner corner, but stop and see what it looks like.

Inner corners are brightened a little...

Add a coat or two of your fav mascara. I use Loreal Voluminous in Carbon black. I rotate between about 3 mascaras that I love.

Ta da! my polished , brightened eye. Add some lipgloss and you are on your way!

Your lid has some natural contouring colors, coupled with the blended concealer it will bring your eyes out.

hey diva.. my camera is sick! lol... sometimes the date is ahead, or other times it's the year... hmmm i suspect babyyum has been playing around being photographer.

anon.... do try! just pick something that looks super close to your skintone. you aren't using the colors for a full face so don't worry if it's off a shade. don't tell anyone i said this, but most drugstore cosmetics don't have plastic on them, just test in the store. get a fingertip full, rub it on your jaw (yes, go check in the handheld mirrors for sale) and see if it blends. if it does, perfect match. remember that we are looking for something a touch lighter than our skintone. good luck. it seems scary in the beginning, but think of it as trying to match shoes with a bag or shirt. if you feel you just didn't get it right, drugstore products can be returned in the US. keep your receipt... good luck!!

karen, i absolutely love it the carbon black.. it's wonderful! i use this the most out of my favs: dior show, max factor 2000 calorie, covergirl lash exact and rimmel volum'eyes. oh and almay 3 in 1 moisturizing mascara. =)

this is a great post too. i hate putting on concealer because i always end up looking like a raccoon, instead it looks white under my eyes. And it really shows up in pictures. i'll have to try this method.

i hope this works out for you traci! let me know how it goes. concealing dark circles AND LIGHTENING SHADOWS are a tough feat that i'm still trying to figure out in the most natural way possible. good luck!

Bobbi Brown has a great two-part concealer system that I use. It was time consuming when I started, but it's great now, lol. It includes the brightener, which lightens dark circles, and a concealer color, which neutralizes the "white, raccoon effect" of the brightener, giving you a glowing undereye area that perfectly matches the rest of your face. the first time I used it, I almost didn't recognize my face...I hadn't realized how much character the shadows under my eyes gave my face. My eyes were just blank! Lol, hope this helps!